Former
Palomar and University of Wyoming defensive end Corey Mace will
begin his second NFL season with the Buffalo Bills when training
camp begins two weeks from Friday at Rochester, NY.

Mace, a 6-foot-3,
287-pounder, spent the first 16 weeks on the Bills' practice squad
in 2007 before being activated to the regular roster before their
Dec. 28 game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

He spent part of
2008 mini-camp playing with the Bills' first team.

Nevada has signed
second-team J.C. Grid-Wire All-American linebacker Mike
Bethea, shown making a tackle in victory over Golden West last
Fall. .-- (Photo
by Rick Rowell) ORDER
PHOTOS (password: cometball)

All-American LB Bethea signs with

Nevada;
5 others bring list to 22

(4/28/08)(6/20/08)
(7/5/08)

Palomar J.C. Grid-Wire
second-team All-America linebacker Mike Bethea has signed with
the University of Nevada and will play for the Wolf Pack of the
Western Athletic Conference this upcoming Fall.

Bethea, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound La
Costa Canyons High School product, led the Comets' 2007 team in
tackles (77 in 10 games), solo tackles (38) and tackles for
losses (10). He also had an interception and a fumble recovery.

Also, All-Mission Conference center
Vic Aquilina signed became the third Comet to sign with Western
Carolina.

Kicker Joe Carithers signed with NCAA Division I Eastern Michigan University of
the MAC. Carithers made eight-of-14 field goals
and 40-of-42 PAT's for Palomar's 2007 team. The Eagles' 2008
schedule includes games at Michigan State on Sept. 6, Maryland on
Sept. 20 and Army on Oct. 11.

Tight end Keena Kuumba will play at
Sacramento State, bringing the list of Palomar players moving onto
the four-year college level to 20.

Offensive tackle Jack Dill signed with
NCAA Division II Concord University of Athens, GA. Running back
Adrian Allen, who rushed for 237 yards and three touchdowns
playing in six games for the Comets as a freshman in 2006. He missed
the 2007 season with a broken hand, signed with NAIA school
Culver-Stockton College of Canton, MO.

The list of Palomar players signing
and / or already having transferred to four-year colleges, as of
July 5

ILB Mike Bethea, University of
Nevada

K Joe Carithers, Eastern
Michigan University

QB Hunter Wanket, Central
Connecticut State University

REC Kyle Hill, Sacramento State
University

TE Keena Kuumba, Sacramento
State University

DE Mao Lefiti, South Dakota
State University

CB Michael Wright, Idaho State
University

C Vic Aquilina Western Carolina
University

OT Brandon Hribar, Western
Carolina University

S Breyan McQueen, Western
Carolina University

WR Stephan Towns, Stony Brook
University

DE Geraldo Powell, Hampton
University

OT Jack Dill, Concord University

LB Lawrence Hunt, Missouri
Valley College

DL Tim Asavaio, Missouri Valley
College

DE Simon Malo, Missouri Valley
College

RB Adrian Allen, Culver-Stockton
College

CB Chancey Duriso, UTEP
(walk-on)

LB Willie Waters, San Diego
State (walk-on)

WR/PR Marques Parker (2006
team), TCU

LB Tyler Hiatt, Adams State
College

DT Tony Kalone (2006 team),
University of Northern Colorado

Second-team
All-American linebacker Mike Bethea helped lead the Comets to a
final No. 26 ranking in the nation. (Photo by Hugh Gerhardt).

Palomar
football squad ranked

No. 26 in
nation among JC teams

(12/11/07)

Palomar finished
the football season ranked No. 26 in the nation by the
J.C. Grid-Wire. The Comets went 7-3 and finished second
in the American Division of the Mission Conference, ranked
as the toughest community college conference in America.

City College of San
Francisco, which defeated Mt. SAC 31-28 in the California
Community College Athletic Association championship game, won
the mythical national title, followed in the top 10 by co-No. 2
teams Mississippi Gulf Coast and Butler (Kansas), No. 4
Bakersfield, No. 5 Foothill, No. 6 Snow (Utah), No. 7 El
Camino, No. 8 Mt. SAC, No. 9 Navarro (Texas) and No. 10 Sierra.
The Comets defeated Mt. SAC during the season.

Palomar team MVP
Tobias Shanks
catches TD pass
in wins over
Long Beach City College (left) and over
Grossmont (Photos
by Rick Rowell).
ORDER
PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Shanks voted
team MVP honors

by Palomar's
2007 football squad

(12/9/07)

Sophomore wide receiver Tobias Shanks was named team
Most Valuable Player at Palomar's football banquet
Sunday evening at the Dome.

Bethea, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound La Costa High School
product who is considered a major Division I
prospect, led the Comets with 77 tackles, 10 for losses.
He also intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble.

Myers prepped a Lynwood High School and originally
signed with the University of Washington. Pugh played at
Rancho Buena Vista High. Hill played at Oceanside High.

Bethea received Academic All-American honorable mention
selection. He was ineligible to make the first team
because of his selection on the regular All-American
team.

Bethea carries a 3.65
grade-point average as an education major. Hill carries a 3.2 grade-point average
as a liberal studies major..

The J.C. Grid-Wire All-America team is the only
community college team to honor players from all 147 JC
teams from both California and the National Junior
College Athletic Association (non-California schools).

The team has been selected by the legendary Hank Ives
from votes throughout the nation since 1960, when Roger
Staubach of New Mexico Military, who went on to win the
Heisman Trophy at Navy and become one of the best NFL
quarterbacks in history with the Dallas Cowboys, headed the first-ever
Grid-Wire team.

Palomar
rolled up 489 yards in total offense against Ventura in
the Southern California Bowl on Saturday at Escondido's
Wilson Stadium.

But, on
an evening elusive Ventura quarterback Lee Mondol, a
transfer from the University of Michigan, threw five
touchdown passes, it wasn't enough.

The
Pirates held off the Comets 39-34 in a game in which the
teams traded the lead back and fourth -- but the Palomar
couldn't overcome the TD passes and 116 critical yards
in penalties.

For the
Comets, who finished the season 7-3, Leiyon Myers (left)
rushed for 96 yards and three touchdowns on 23 carries.
Joey Erickson connected on 20 of 30 passes for 244 yards
and a touchdown. Diondre Fulford added 89 yards rushing
on 10 carries. Diondre Grisby scored two touchdowns, on
a 23-yard pass-run play from Erickson and a 4-yard run
he set up himself with a 33-yard run.

Palomar
will try to close out the 2007 football season in style
Saturday when the Comets host Ventura in the Southern
California Bowl.

Kickoff will be at 4 p.m.
at Wilson Stadium on the Escondido High School campus. The
Comets come into the game with a 7-2 record and No. 25
national ranking by the J.C. Grid-Wire. The Pirates,
co-champions of the Western State Conference Western
Division, are 7-3.

"It's their first
post-season game in a while and they have a six-game win
streak," Palomar coach Joe Early said of Ventura. "If they
can beat a Mission Conference team, and particularly
Palomar, it will be a big feather in their caps.

"I'm sure they're going to
come in sky high. We've got to be aware of that, be
consistent and play our game."

Palomar will get Donnell
Fulford, who missed last week's 52-49 victory over Golden
West, back from an ankle sprain. First-team all-conference
All-Mission Conference American Division selection Leilyon
Myers and Fulford, a second-team pick, give the Comets a
potent 1-2 rushing punch to go along with quarterback Joey
Erickson's passing.

"I'm sure Ventura will try
to work time of possession to try to keep the ball away from
our offense," Early said. "When we get our opportunities
we've got to capitalize."

Richie
Martin will get the start at slot receiver in place of the
injured Kyle Hill. Hill and linebacker Willie Waters both
were lost during the Golden West game last week due to
injuries. Hill is on crutches. Waters underwent knee surgery
on Tuesday.

Middle linebacker Mike Bethea, shown about to level Golden West's
Everett Mason, is one of five players from nationally 25th-ranked
Palomar on the All-Mission Conference American Division first team. (Photo by Rick Rowell) ORDER
PHOTOS (password: cometball)

5 Palomar
players
make first team;

bowl game
kickoff moved to 4 p.m.

(11/13/07)

Five
players from Palomar, which moved back into the J.C. Grid-Wire national rankings in the 25th spot this week,
were named to the All-Mission Conference American
Division first team in voting among conference
football coaches Tuesday.

Also
Tuesday, Palomar Director of Athletics Scott Cathcart
announced that kickoff for Saturday's Southern
California Bowl game between the Comets and Ventura at
Escondido High School's Wilson Stadium has been moved to
4 p.m. to accommodate the Pirates, who are making a
175-mile trip south. The game originally was slated for 1 p.m.

The
Palomar football squad will host Ventura in the Southern
California Bowl this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 17, at
Escondido High School's Wilson Stadium. Kickoff is
slated for 1 p.m.

The
Comets (7-2, tied for second in the Mission Conference
American Division) were voted the No. 9 in Southern
California at the California at the California Community
College Athletic Association seeding meeting in
Sacramento, missing a berth in the state community
college playoffs by one spot. The top eight seeds from
Southern California advance to the playoffs.

Ventura
(7-3, co-champion of the Western State Conference
Pacific Division, was seeded No. 11 in Southern
California.

The
Palomar-Ventura match-up makes this a belated rematch of
the 1989 Hall of Fame Bowl at Balboa Stadium, the
Comets' first-ever post-season football appearance. The
Comets defeated the Pirates in that game 21-20 on a late
field goal.

Palomar
offensive coordinator Dan Early and Torrey Pines High
school head coach Scott Ashby were teammates on that
Palomar squad.

ABOVE: Damon De Luca runs 57 yards on a fake punt. BELOW
LEFT: Richie Martin crosses the goal line on a 45-yard
catch-and-run play from Joey Erickson. (Photos by Rick Rowell) ORDER
PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Erickson
throws four TD passes

and Comets
win a wild one 52-49

(11/10/07)

Freshman
Joey Erickson, making his first start since replacing
the injured Hunter Wanket as Palomar's quarterback
shortly before halftime the previous week, made it a
memorable one Saturday afternoon. His performance may
have helped catapult the Comets into the post-season.

Erickson
connected on 12 of 23 pass attempts for 191 yards and
four touchdowns -- and finished with 205 yards total
offense. That, and Leilyon Myers' 103 yards and two
touchdowns rushing on 28 carries, helped lead the Comets
to a wild 52-49 victory over Golden West in the teams'
regular-season finale at Escondido's Wilson Stadium.

Palomar finishes the regular season 7-2 (3-1 in Mission
Conference and awaits a possible playoff or bowl berth
when post-season pairings are announced at mid-day
Sunday. Golden West finishes 2-7, 0-4.

Erickson
-- who threw a pair of TD passes to Tobias Shanks (six
receptions for 95 yards) -- has thrown for 402 yards and
five touchdowns in just over six quarters since stepping
in when Wanket fractured his collarbone at Fullerton.
This, after seeing limited action in three of the
Comets' first seven games.

"That's
where my teammates come in," Erickson said. "I got good
(pass) protection. My receivers did a good job. My
teammates have picked me up and supported me since I got
thrown into the mix."

Middle
linebacker Mike Bethea (12 tackles, 10 solo, two tackles
for losses), defensive end Caleb Evans (five tackles,
two sacks, three tackles for losses) and outside
linebacker Bubba Pugh (nine tackles, four solo, one
tackle for loss, one blocked punts) had big-play days on
defense.

Damon De
Luca set up Palomar's first TD by running 57 yards to
the Golden West 33 on a fake punt.

The
Comets scored on a 33-yard pass play from Erickson to
Shanks, a 15-yard run by Myers, a 6-run run by Marquis
Leauma, a 9-yard pass from Erickson to Shanks, a 15-yard
pass from Erickson to Diondre Grigsby, a 45-yard pass
play from Erickson to Richie Martin, an 18-yar run by
Myers, a 40-yard field goal by Carithers -- and a
7-for-7 performance on PAT's by Carithers.

Martin
juked and eluded a series of defenders as he raced into
the end zone after catching Erickson's pass early in the
fourth quarter.

The
teams battled back and fourth with the Rustlers leading
14-7 after one quarter, the Comets on top 21-14 at
halftime, the Rustlers going back in front 35-28 after
three quarters. Palomar outscored Golden West 24-14 in
the fourth quarter -- and led by as many as 14 points at
49-35.

"Every
time we made a big play, it seemed like they answered
back," Erickson said.

Corner Michael Wright
(7) and safety Breyan McQueen (13), shown against Fullerton, could
play key roles against Golden West on Saturday. (Photo by
Michael Sackett). -- ORDER
PHOTOS from Palomar-Fullerton game

Palomar
needs win on Saturday

to advance
to the post-season

(11/8/07)

Palomar faces a "must win" situation in football
Saturday when the Comets host Golden West (1 p.m.
kickoff, Wilson Stadium, Escondido High School) to close
out the regular season.

The
Comets come in 6-2 on the year, 2-1 in the Mission
Conference American Division and need a victory to have
any chance of advancing to the state community college
playoffs -- and probably even to advance to a bowl game.

The
Rustlers are 2-6 and 0-3.

A
Palomar victory, coupled with an El Camino win over
Fullerton and a Saddleback win over Mt. SAC, could
catapult the Comets into the Southern California portion
of the playoffs, which begin Nov. 17. Bowl games will be
played the same day.

"If we
want to continue to play, we have to win," coach Joe
Early said. "It's pretty simple. And we will have to
play well if we want to win. Golden West has improved
every week, and have been with teams into the second
half, but doesn't have great depth and that has cost
them. They have good players, and they're tough. We've
got our work cut out for us."

Joey
Erickson will get his first start at quarterback after
coming in to replace Hunter Wanket, who suffered a
season-ending fractured collarbone late in the first
half, last week against Fullerton. Erickson passed for
211 yards and a touchdown in that game in barely over
one half.

CLICK HERE to view feature story frm Friday's the
North County Times on former Palomar All-American and
current University of Connecticut starting quarterback
Tyler Lorenzen

Palomar
lost quarterback Hunter Wanket for the season with a
fractured collarbone late in the first half of
Saturday's Mission Conference American Division game
against Fullerton at Fullerton High School.

The
Hornets (6-2, 2-1) went on to shock the nationally
18th-ranked Comets 47-17.

But, on
what was a frustrating return to action after wildfires
and bad air quality cost them an entire week of
practice, three big bright spots emerged in the game for
the Comets:

Most notably,
previously little-used freshman quarterback Joey Erickson, who now steps
in for Wanket as the Comets' starter -- came on late
in the second quarter and passed for 211 yards the
rest of the way, including a
46-yard touchdown to Tobias Shanks the rest of the
way.

Shanks had seven
receptions for 171 yards

Freshman running
back Leilyon Myers rushed for 110 yards and a 1-yard
TD on 12 carries. He had 14 additional yards on a
pair of receptions.

The
Erickson-led Comets came close to getting back in the
game in the fourth quarter, but two of Erickson's passes
into the end zone to Shanks were caught barely out of
bounds.

And Erickson threw an interception in the end zone
after driving Palomar to the Fullerton 7-yard line.

"I'm
real proud of our team the way they fought back and I'm
extremely proud of Joey Erickson," coach Joe Early said.

Palomar
took a 3-0 lead on Joe Carrithers' 25-yard field goal
with 9:27 left in the first quarter.

That came after a
56-yard completion from Wanket to Shanks gave the Comets
a first down at the Fullerton 12 and Myers' apparent
4-yard touchdown run two plays later was nullified by a
holding penalty.

Also
for Palomar, Gerardo Cortez placed a punt out of bounds
at the Fullerton 1-yard line.

Diondre Grigsby, running for yards in 44-7 win over Long Beach
City College, is one of four outstanding running backs for the
Comets. (Photo by Rick Rowell) -- ORDER PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Comets
return to the field Saturday

to take on
Fullerton on the road

(11/2/07)

Nationally 18th-ranked Palomar will return to action for
the first time since Oct. 20 on Saturday, facing
Fullerton College in a 1
p.m.
Mission Conference American Division match-up at
Fullerton High School.

The
Comets, who are also ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 4
in Southern California by the California Community
College Football Coaches Association, come into the game
6-1 on the season and 2-0 in the Mission American
Division. The Hornets, who are ranked 16th in the state
and eighth in Southern Cal, are 5-2 and 1-1.

All six
Mission Conference games a week ago were cancelled due
to the Southern California wildfires and poor air
quality.

"It's
good to get back on the field after missing last week.
Our kids are excited and ready to play and I'm sure
Fullerton feels the same way," coach Joe Early said.

"Fullerton had a lot of trick plays, especially on
special teams, which forces you to think outside the
box. You can't prepare for everything they might do, but
you have to be alert on every play, because deception is
such a big part of what they're about."

The
game, Early said, "has playoff implications for the
winner and probably bowl implications for the loser.
It's a huge game."

Leilyon
Myers (560 yards, seven touchdowns on 87 carries) goes
into the game as Palomar's leading rusher. He's also
caught five passes for an additional 109 yards and
another TD. Donnell Fulford, Diondre Grigsby and Andrew
Frasier give
Palomar a three-pronged running attack behind a line
anchored by center Vic Aquilina.

Quarterback Hunter Wanket has passed for 1,433 yards and
14touchdowns and has tackled on 136 yards and an
additional TD rushing.

Tobias
Shanks is the Comets' leading receiver with 31 catches
for 508 yards and seven touchdowns.

Palomar
is tied with nationally third-ranked El Camino College
for the American Division lead. Their match-up with the
Warriors was cancelled last week and will not be made
up. The Comets will close the regular season a week from
Saturday against Golden West at Escondido's Wilson
Stadium.

Quarterback Hunter Wanket, receiver Maurice Patterson (80) and the
Palomar football team will finish what will now be a nine-game
regular-season schedule with games at Fullerton on Saturday and
against Golden West at Escondido's Wilson Stadium on Saturday, Nov.
10. (Photo by Rick Rowell) -- ORDER PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Comets, El
Camino, other affected

teams will
not make up games

(10/30/07)

California Community College Athletic Association
Executive Director Carlyle Carter ruled late Tuesday afternoon that there
will be no make-ups of the six Mission Conference
football games or other Southern California games that
were not played because of fire, and air quality
conditions on Saturday, Oct. 28.

That
means the scheduled Palomar at El Camino game will not
be made up, and the Comets will be among teams playing
nine-game regular-season schedules.

Champions of the Mission Conference American and
National Divisions, Western State Conference North and
South Divisions and Foothill Conference -- plus three
at-large teams -- will be seeded into the eight-team
Southern California playoffs that begin Nov. 17.
The state championship game is Dec. 8 in Fresno.

Palomar resumed
practice Monday after being unable to practice since
Oct. 19. The
Comets will return to action this upcoming Saturday, Nov. 3, vs.
Fullerton at 1 p.m. at Fullerton High School.

Defensive end Andrew Sugg (95, about ready to level Long Beach City
College's Gabriel Thomas) and his Palomar teammates are ranked 18th
in the nation. (Photos by Rick Rowell) -- ORDER PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Comets
ranked No. 18 in nation,

7th in state
and 4th in Southern Cal

(10/30/07)

Palomar
has moved to No. 18 in the J.C. Grid-Wire national
community college football rankings.

The
Comets, who will play Fullerton on Saturday at 1 p.m. at
Fullerton High School, also are ranked No. 7 in the
state and No. 4 in Southern California, both by the
California Community College Football Coaches
Association.

2006
Palomar J.C. Grid-Wire first-team All-American
Tyler Lorenzen
was 13-for-25 passing for 194 yards and a touchdown
Saturday as the University of Connecticut beat BCS
10th-ranked South Florida 22-15 in the rain at East
Hartford , CT.

With the win, the Huskies advanced to 7-1, remained the
only unbeaten team in Big East play at 3-0 -- and jumped
10 spots in the BCS rankings from their No. 23 spot of a week ago.

West
Virginia is 2-1 in the Big East and every other Big East
team has at least two conference losses. On the season,
Lorenzen and UConn are only one point away from being
undefeated.

UConn coach coach Randy
Edsall, who has coached 21 seasons in major college
football and spent three years as an assistant with the
Jacksonville Jaguars, had the following to say
about Lorenzen, the Bristol (CT) Press reported:

"I've been around some
pretty good quarterbacks and seen some pretty good
quarterbacks and gone against pretty good quarterbacks
in college and also the NFL. But I don't know if I've
been around a guy who has the intangibles and qualities
outside of the physical abilities that Tyler has. I
mean, you can't describe it. Some people have it ...
they just have it. It's not about how you look getting
something done in the game of football. It's still about
productivity. And our team always sees a guy who never
gets flustered, who has a tremendous amount of
confidence and poise in his ability, and they feed off
of it."

The same way Palomar's team
fed off the presence of Lorenzen, the 2006 national
community college total offense leader and California
Offensive Player of the Year. Said Comet coach Joe
Early, who played at Palomar and was an assistant during
the Comets' national championship seasons of 1991, 1993
and 1997:

"I don't think we have ever
had a player -- or a person -- like Tyler Lorenzen at
Palomar. I don't know if we ever will again."

When Lorenzen took a knee to
end the game, many from the 40,000-fan sellout
crowd jumped out of the seats onto the playing surface
at Rentschler Field, joining the players and creating a
sea of people on the field.

UConn, which made the
transition from Division I-AA to I-A just seven years
ago, moved to 16th in the Associated Press poll on
Sunday.

Comets
ranked 25th in nation;

Wanket is
Mission Player of Week

(10/23/07)

Palomar
has resurfaced in the J.C. Grid-Wire national
football rankings in the 25th spot.

Also, Comet
quarterback Hunter Wanket has been named Mission
Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Wanket (left, Photo by
Rick Rowell) was nearly perfect in Palomar's 44-7
win over Long Beach City College on Saturday, Oct. 20.

He threw for 257 yards on
24-for-27 passing with four touchdowns and no
interceptions. He tossed three of those TD passes to
Tobias Shanks (5, 14 and 26 yards) and added a 41-yard
TD to Maurice Patterson. Wanket also ran for 42 yards.

In the Grid-Wire
national rankings, Palomar (6-1) is tied with Iowa
Central for No. 25.

Wanket, a sophomore from
Torrey Pines High School, also has been named Pacific
Coast Conference Men's Athlete of the Week for all
sports.

It isn't necessary for an athlete to compete in
a PCC sport to be honored by the conference.

ABOVE LEFT: Stephan Towns catches 7-yard pass from Hunter Wanket
over Long Beach defender. ABOVE RIGHT: Defensive end
Caleb Evans -- who had five tackles, a sack, two tackles for losses
and a quarterback hurry -- beats LBCC blockers and runs free.BELOW RIGHT: Tobias Shanks catches pass from Wanket. Play
went for one of Shanks' three touchdowns.BELOW LEFT:
Maurice Patterson hauls in Wanket pass. Play went for 41-yard
touchdown with 9:57 left in the game. (Photos by Rick Rowell)

Wanket
(24-for-27, 257 yds., 4 TDs)

and Comets top
Long Beach 44-7

(10/20/07)

Quarterback
Hunter Wanket (24-for-27 passing, 257
yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions) threw three TD
passes to Tobias Shanks on Saturday as Palomar blitzed
Long Beach City College 44-7 at Escondido's Wilson
Stadium.

Behind
Wanket's spectacular performance (his .889 completion
percentage is believed to be a Palomar record), the
Comets advanced
to 6-1 on the season,
2-0 in the Mission Conference American Division.

Wanket
was playing healthy for the first time since he
sustained multiple injuries in an early-season victory
over Mt. SAC.

Shanks had eight receptions for
84 yards for the afternoon.

The
Comets, ranked No. 9 in the state and No. 4 in Southern
California by the California Community College Football
Coaches Association, also got big performances from Kyle
Hill (121 total offense yards) and a defense that was
led by outside linebacker Bubba Pugh (seven tackles, one quarterback
hurry), end Caleb Evans (five tackles, one sack, three
tackles for losses) and middle linebacker Mike Bethea
(five tackles, two for losses).

Palomar outgained Long Beach 437 yards total offense to
173.

The
Comets took a 14-0 halftime lead on the Vikings (1-6,
0-2) on Marquis Leauma’s 2-yard touchdown
run and Wanket’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Shanks. They
tacked on 30 second-half points on TD passes of 14 and
26 yards from Wanket to Shanks, a 41-yard TD pass from
Wanket to Maurice Patterson, Joe Carithers’ 41-yard
field goal and Geraldo Powell’s 33-yard interception
return.

Palomar will visit nationally No. 7-ranked El Camino,
which also is 6-1, 2-0 in the American Division, next
Saturday evening in Torrance.

Palomar transfer quarterback Tyler Lorenzen
drove Connecticut to the winning touchdown with 1:32 to play
Friday night, keeping the Huskies alone atop the Big East
with a 21-17 win over Louisville at East Hartford, CT.

Lorenzen had 186 of UConn's 305
yards in total offense in a nationally-televised game played
in a driving rainstorm and 20 mph winds.

Trailing 17-7, the Huskies cut
the Cardinals' lead to 17-14 with 10:02 left in the game as
Lorenzen passed 36 yards to Andre Dixon for a first down at
the 14, ran the ball 7 yards down to the 7-yard line
then threw a TD pass to Brad Karuch.

On the winning drive, Lorenzen
completed three key passes and also ran for a first down.

Tim Asaivao (51), a
sophomore tackle from Vistal High School, and the rest of Palomar's
defense came up big in last week's victory over Orange Coast.
(Photo by Rick Rowell) -- ORDER PHOTOS (password: cometball)

Comets host
Vikings on Saturday,

shoot for
6-1 for '07, 2-0 in division

(10/19/07)

Coming off a physical 22-10 victory over Orange Coast, the
Palomar football team will host Long Beach City College on
Saturday (1 p.m. kickoff, Wilson Stadium in Escondido).

The Comets try to go 6-1on the season, 2-0 in the Mission
Conference American Division.

Palomar comes into the game
ranked No. 9 in the state and No. 4 in Southern California
by the California Community College Football Coaches
Association.

The Comets will be hosting a
Long Beach team that is 1-5 on the season, 0-1 in the
division and coming off a 37-14 loss to an El Camino squad
that is ranked No.7 in the nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire, No.
5 in California and No. 2 in Southern California.

If the visiting Vikings are one
thing, Palomar coach Joe Early said, they are dangerous.

"Long Beach has the speed,
quickness and skill players to turn negative plays into big
plays on offense and they fly around on defense. We will
have to play well to win.

"We're coming off a good win
over Orange Coast, and we want to keep our momentum going."

Running back Leilyon Myers, healthy for the
first time in four games, rushed for 109 yards and a
touchdown on 24 carries and the Comets' defense and special
teams both came up big in the victory over Orange Coast.

TOP:
Defensive tackle Braxton Brennan tackles Orange Coast
quarterback Sean Hakes, who was trying to escape Palomar
defenders on a broken play Saturday. No. 45 is Shane Melbo.
BELOW LEFT: John "Goo" Roberson's momentum carries him out
of bounds just short of the goal line on 27-yard pass play from
Hunter Wanket. John Roberson's catch set up former Lynwood High
teammate Leilyon Myers' 3-yard touchdown two plays later.
BELOW RIGHT: Diondre Grisby breaks loose on 54-yard run that
helped set up Palomar's final TD in the fourth quarter..
(Photos by Rick Rowell)

Myers
rushes for 109 yards; Pugh's

safety
jumpstarts Comets in victory

(10/13/07)

Leilyon Myers,
healthy for the first time in four games, rushed for 109 yards
and a touchdown on 24 carries and Palomar's defense and special
teams dominated as the Comets punched out Orange Coast 22-10 on
Saturday.

The
Comets advanced to 5-1 on the season and opened defense of their
Mission Conference American Division championship with the
victory in a physical game on a muddy field at Wilson Stadium in
Escondido.

The Comets
fell behind the Pirates 3-0 after one quarter – then scored 22
unanswered points to lead 22-3 on a Bubba Pugh safety, Myers’
3-yard touchdown run, two Joe Carithers field goals (for 37 and 39
yards), a 6-yard TD pass from Hunter Wanket to Tobias Shanks and
two Carithers extra points.

Palomar had
the ball at the Orange Coast 6-yard line when Wanket took a knee
on back-to-back plays to run out the clock.

Kyle Hill had eight receptions
for 49 yards, returned two punts 48 yards and tacked on an
8-yard run on a play on which he lined up at quarterback.

John Roberson's momentum took
him out of bounds at the 3-yard line on 27-yard pass play from Wanket
that preceded Palomar's first touchdown, which gave the Comets a
9-3 lead with 51 seconds remaining in the opening half.. Myers scored
on his 3-yard run two plays later.

Diondre Grigsby broke off a
54-yard run to set up Wanke's TD pass to Shanks -- which
culminated a 12-play, 90-yard drive that stretched the Comets'
lead to 19 points with 3:10 left in the game.

Andrew Frasier returned a
kickoff 74 yards to the OCC 16-yard line.

Damon De Luca blocked a punt
that Pugh recovered to set up Carithers' second field goal. De
Luca also ran 30 yards on a fake punt for a first down at the
Coast 12-yard line.

Quarterback Hunter
Wanket, who had been playing hurt for half the season, had a bye
week to heal and will help lead the Comets against Orange Coast on
Saturday. (Photo by Rick Rowell)
ORDER PHOTOS (enter password: cometball)

Comets open
defense of division

title vs.
Orange Coast at home

(10/12/07)

Palomar will open defense of the Mission Conference American
Division football championship it shared with Mt. SAC last
season when the Comets host Orange Coast on Saturday.

The division opener will be
played at Escondido High School's Wilson Stadium at 5 p.m.
Coach Joe Early's Comets bring a 4-1 record into the game.
The Pirqtes come in 2-3.

"They're another physical team
and they'll hit you," Early said. "I keep thinking back to
the Mt. SAC (victory) and how much intensity we played with.
That is the way we have to play Saturday."

Players who either missed the
Pasadena City College game two weeks ago, when the Comets
suffered their first loss of 2007, and others who went down
during the game with injuries, will be back in action
Saturday.

Nationally 15th-ranked Pasadena
City College won a battle of football unbeatens from
nationally ninth-ranked Palomar 54-14 Saturday in Pasadena.

First-team
pre-season All-American quarterback David Pittman passed for
481 yards and six touchdowns for the Lancers (5-0) on an
afternoon the Comets lost starting quarterback Hunter Wanket,
running backs Donnell Fulford and and Leilyon Myers and
middle linebacker Mike Bethea with injuries.

Palomar (4-1) already was
missing
center Vic Aquilina running back Diondre Grigsby, defensive tackle Simon Malo and
corner Nick Walker with injuries suffered earlier in the
season, Wanket and Myers have been playing
with injuries sustained in the Mt. SAC game, and the cumulative
effect of the whole process caught up with the Comets
in a big way Saturday.

"Not to take anything away from
Pasadena, but we're a M*A*S*H* unit right now," coach Joe
Early said. We need our bye week next week to get people
back, get people healthy and make a run at the Mission
Conference American Division that begins in two weeks.

"We could see these guys
again in the
playoffs. This was just one game."

Palomar, trailing 7-0 in the
first quarter, took an 8-7 lead on Donnell Fulford's 1-yard
touchdown run and Kyle Hill's two-point conversion run off a
fake PAT kick.

Back-up quarterback Joey
Erickson, who replaced Wanket in the third quarter, drove
the Comets to their second TD, which came on a 17-yard run
Andrew Frasier with 5:43 left in the game. Joe Carither's
PAT kick was blocked.

Wanket tweaked his shoulder
injury from the Mt. SAC game in practice this week and was
unable to throw the ball properly in the two-plus quarters
he played.

Fulford rushed for 79 yards
on 17 carries before leaving the game with an ankle injury. Hill (four
kickoff returns for 108 yards) John Roberson (three catches
for 50 yards), Tobias Shanks (three catches for 31 yards),
David Batts (nine tackles, five solo), Bethea (six tackles
prior to his injury), Geraldo Powell (five tackles including
a sack and two tackles for losses) and David Motu (fumble
recovery) turned in credible performances for the Comets on
a long afternoon.

And the Comets' defense will
have its work cut out for it as the Comets and Lancers get
their final cross-division tests leading up to their
division openers in two weeks.

PCC is third in the state and
nation in total offense, averaging 537.8 yards per game.

And Lancers quarterback David
Pittman is the state and national total offense leader,
averaging 395.0 yards per game.

Pre-season J.C. Grid-Wire
All-American first-team middle linebacker Mike Bethea,
coming off a very active game in last week's 34-17 road
victory over Riverside Community College, will key the
Comets' defensive effort.

Pasadena also leads the Mission
Conference in total defense, giving up 249.8 yards per game.

Palomar, which has played a
decidedly tougher schedule, is eighth in the state and
nation in total offense, averaging an even 500.0 yards per
game, 1.25 yards per game ahead of National Junior College
Athletic Association (non-California teams) leader Blinn
(Texas).

Blinn the defending Grid-Wire
national champion, is averaging 498.5 yards per game.

Pasadena's David Reed leads the
state and nation with 9.5 receptions per game. Palomar's
Tobias Shanks is third in the state and nation with an
average of 21.2 yards per reception.

Shawn Dearing advances
ball to the Riverside Community College 20-yard line after catching
pass in second quarter last Saturday in Comets' 34-17 road victory.
Donnell Fulford scored on a 4-yard run four plays later, giving
Palomar a 14-10 lead they would never relinquish. (Photo by Rick
Rowell) --
ORDER PHOTOS (enter password: cometball)

Palomar
remains 9th in nation,

7th in state,
3rd in Southern Cal

(9/25/07)

Palomar's remained ninth in the
nation in the J.C.Grid-Wire rankings this week. The
Comets also seventh in the state in the California Community
College Football Coaches Association ratings -- and third in
Southern California in two polls.

The Comets will match 4-0
records with Pasadena City College (ranked 15th in the
nation, 11th in the state and fifth in Southern California)
Saturday at 1 p.m. at Jackie Robinson Stadium on the PCC
campus.

Palomar is third in Southern
California in back of Bakersfield and Saddleback in the
California Community College Football Coaches Association
and California Community College Athletic Association polls.

ABOVE:..Middle
linebacker Mike Bethea, who had a dominant game, tackles Riverside
running back Marcus Clarke.Comets held Clarke, the Mission Conference's leading rusher, to
81 yards. BELOW RIGHT: Leilyon Myers dives into the endzone
on his third touchdown of the evening.. (Phoros
by Rick Rowell) --
ORDER PHOTOS (enter password: cometball)

Palomar goes to
4-0 by beating

RCC
34-17; Bethea comes up huge

(9/22/07)

Leilyon Myers ran for three
touchdowns against Riverside Community College at Wheelock
Stadium in Riverside on Saturday evening.

Donnell
Fulfordrushed for 100 yards and a TD on 19 carries,
Hunter Wanket passed for 210 yards and a touchdown and
rushed for 49 yards -- and pre-season All-American middle
linebacker Mike Bethea came up with a spectacular defensive
effort.

Their performances helped propel
Palomar's football squad, ranked ninth in the nation
and seventh in the state, to a 34-17 victory over the
Tigers, who are ranked 17th in the state.

The Comets (4-0) took a 7-0 lead
3 minutes, 39 seconds into the game on Myers' 2-yard
touchdown run and Joe Carithers' PAT kick, which were set up
by Bubba Pugh's recovery of a fumbled punt at the RCC
14-yard line.

They fell behind the Tigers
10-7, then outscored them 24-7 over the final 32 minutes, 15
seconds.

Palomar also tallied touchdowns
on Fulford's 3-yard run with 2:15 left in the first
half, Myers' 2-yard run 1:22 into the second half that
was set up by Bethea's interception of a tipped pass, a
26-yard pass from Wanket (18-for-25, one TD, no
interceptions) to Maurice Patterson with 2:24 remaining in
the third quarter and Myers' 1-yard run with 12:16 left in
the game.

Myers' third touchdown
culminated a 71-yard Palomar drive. Four plays before the
touchdown, Carithers split the uprights on a 44-yard field
goal but RCC was flagged with an offside penalty. The Comets
accepted the penalty, picking up a first down -- taking the
three points off the scoreboard.

Kyle Hill had five receptions
for the Comets for 43 yards, Tobias Shanks four catches for
56 yards, Richie Martin three receptions for 22 yards and
Patterson two catches for 39 yards and a touchdown.

Bethea was all over the field in
the game, finishing the evening with nine tackles, an
interception and a fumble recovery. Michael Wright had seven
tackles, a broken-up pass and a quarterback hurry. Tim
Asaivao and Brett Wininger each had five tackles.

Palomar and Pasadena City
College, a 30-0 winner over Golden West on Saturday, will
match 4-0 records next Saturday, Sept. 29, at 1 p.m. at
PCC's Jackie Robinson Stadium.

The road doesn't get
any easier for the Palomar football team as the nationally
ninth-ranked Comets hit the I-15 north Saturday for a 5 p.m. meeting
with Riverside Community College.

The
Mission Conference cross-division game kicks off at 5 p.m. at
Wheelock Stadium on the RCC campus.

The Comets, who are
ranked No. 7 in the state and No. 3 in Southern California, will
come into the game with a 3-0 overall record and a 1-0
conference mark. The Tigers are 2-1 on the season and ranked
17th in the state and eighth in Southern California.

"This is the third
week in a row we'll play somebody who are ranked nationally or
have been ranked nationally this season," Palomar coach Joe
Early said.

"(Riverside) is
always physical and they play well at home."

The Comets are
coming off a 31-23 victory last week over Mt. SAC, which at the
time was ranked No. 9 in the nation and is now rated 16th. The
Tigers suffered their first loss 38-14 to the nation's
fifth-ranked team, El Camino.

Saturday's game will
match the top two rushers in the Mission Conference in
Riverside's Jamaal Scott (118.0 yards per game, two touchdowns)
and Palomar's Leilyon Myers (109.0 yards per game, three
touchdowns).

It will be the
second straight week the Comets will face a former-Palomar
father and son combination. RCC running backs coach Binky Benton
was Palomar's running backs coach in 2000 and 2001. His son,
Tigers safety Britton Benton, is a former Palomar ball boy.

Foothill is
ranked 11th, City College of San Francisco 12th, Fullerton
13th, Blinn (Texas) 14th, Eastern Arizona 15th, Mt. SAC
16th, College of San Mateo 17th, Pearl River (Mississippi)
18th, Citrus 19th and Pasadena City College 20th.

TOP: Andrew
Sugg recovers fumble for first-quarter touchdown that gave
Palomar a 14-9 lead. Simon Malo caused the fumble with a hit on
Mt. SAC quarerback Kevin Craft. (Photo by Hugh Cox)
MIDDLE: Kyle Hill is brought down by Mt. SAC's Michael
Castaneda after 10-yard kickoff return in first quarter. Hill
had two returns for 40 yards as Mounties kicked away from him
most of the day.(Photo by Hugh Cox).
BELOW LEFT: Breyan McQueen (13) hauls down Mt. SAC
receiver. (Photo by Ernie Anderson) BELOW RIGHT:
Patrick Young comes oh-so-close to intercepting Craft. (Photo
by Ernie Anderson)

Defense
steps up and Comets

stun Mt. SAC
31-23, move to 3-0

(9/15/07)

Palomar's
offense came out firing on all cylinders, the defense
stepped up huge and the Comets rocked nationally
ninth-ranked Mt. SAC 31-23 Saturday at Escondido's Wilson
Stadium to advance to 3-0 on the season.

The 11th-ranked Comets jumped
out to a 28-9 lead in the second quarter and its defense
kept Mt. SAC quarterback Kevin Craft on the run all
afternoon before Craft left the game with heat stroke early
in the second half.

Led by safety Loa Madon (eight
tackles, five solo, two tackles for losses, one fumble
recovery, one broken up pass), safety Michael Allen, end
Gerardo Powell, middle linebacker Mike Bethea and tackle
Mark Williamson, the defense controlled the game the rest of
the way.

Allen had seven tackles and
broke up three passes. Powell had six tackles, two sacks and
two tackles for losses. Bethea had five tackles, half a sack
and two tackles for losses. Williamson had four tackles,
three for losses totaling 15 yards and forced a fumble.

Safety Breyan McQueen had an
interception and broke up two passes. End Andrew Sugg
recovered a fumble for a touchdown after Simon Malo knocked
the ball loose from Craft.

Palomar's offense was plenty
effective while the game was still on the line. Quarterback
Hunter Wanket threw for 226 yards and three touchdowns
before the Comets went to a running attack in the second
half. Tobias Shanks caught five passes for 114 yards and a
touchdown. Leilyon Myers rushed for 61 yards and caught a
pass for 48 yards.

Craft, a former Palomar ball boy
and son of Mt. SAC offensive coordinator and ex-Comet and
San Diego State head coach Tom Craft, threw for 242 yards
and two touchdowns before leaving the game but was sacked
four times.

The younger Craft was taken to
Palomar Medical Center where he was treated for heat stroke,
dehydration and severe cramps and was expected to be
released Saturday night or Sunday morning.

Palomar scored its touchdowns on
a 48-yard Wanket-to-Myers pass play, a fumble recovery in
the end zone by Sugg, a 57-yard pass from Wanket to Shanks
and a 12-yard pass from Wanket to Kyle Hill. Joe Carithers
added a 40-yard field goal.

Mt. SAC, trailing 31-16 late,
scored the game's final points on a 3-yard blocked punt
return with 1:58 to play to close to the final eight-point
margin.

Two of the country's most potent
community college football offenses -- and two of the
nation's best teams -- will square off Saturday when
Palomar, ranked No. 11 in the nation by the J.C.
Grid-Wire, hosts No. 9 Mt. SAC.

Kickoff
is slated for 1 p.m. at Escondido High School's Wilson
Stadium.

Both teams enter the game 2-0.

The Mounties come to town
averaging 522.0 yards per game in total offense and are
coming off back-to-back routs of Victor Valley 62-17 and Mt.
San Jacinto 70-9 last weekend.

The Comets are averaging 608
yards a game and have defeated San Bernardino Valley 34-14
and Grossmont 56-42.

Palomar rushed for a school
record 471 yards against the Griffins, led by Leilyon Myers
(227 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries) and Donnell
Fulford (120 yards and one touchdown on 20 carries), running
behind an inexperienced but improving offensive line
anchored by sophomore center Vic Aqulina.

"This could be another Arena
League similar to last week," Palomar coach Joe Early said.
"When you have two offenses that can move the ball and put
points on the board like these two teams, it puts a lot of
stress on the defenses."

The game marks the return of Mt.
SAC offensive coordinator Tom Craft, who guided Palomar to
three national championships and a 115-56-1 record in16
seasons an is the ex-head coach at San Diego State.

And it will feature a match-up
of two of the premier quarterbacks in community college
football, the Comets' Hunter Wanket and the
Mounties' Kevin Craft.

This match-up has been a
lifetime in the making for Kevin Craft, the state's leading
passer (804 yards and 10 touchdowns in two games), Tom
Craft's son and a one-time Palomar ball boy.

The pressure will be on a
Palomar defense that is led by pre-season first-team J.C.
Grid-Wire All-American middle linebacker Mike Bethea.

Wanket is both a passing and
running threat and is averaging 327.5 yards in total
offense.

"(The return of the Craft
family) is good for interest in the game," Early said.
"There's a lot of history between us and Tom Craft. But the
bottom line is that we're just trying to win a football
game. So are they."

Early is among a majority of
Comet coaches who either played for Craft at Palomar, were
hired by Craft, or both.

"One constant is our great
rivalry with Mt. SAC," Early said.

It's just that, for the first
time, Tom Craft will be on the Mounties' sideline.

Palomar moved up
four places from No. 15 to No. 11 in the J.C. Grid-Wire
national community college football rankings on Monday after
beating Grossmont 56-42 on the road Saturday.

Next
up for the Comets: No. 9-ranked Mt. SAC -- featuring Tom and
Kevin Craft -- on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Wilson Stadium
Escondido. The Mounties pulverized Mt. San Jacinto 70-9 on
Saturday, also on the road.

Both teams come
into the game 2-0.

Bakersfield, a 33-31
winner over former No. 1 El Camino College, moved up from second
into the top spot in the Grid-Wire rankings. Saddleback
took over the No. 2 ranking, followed by No. 3 City College of
San Francisco, No. 4 Butler (Kansas), No. 5 Pearl River
(Mississippi), No. 6 Santa Rosa, No. 7 El Camino, No. 8 Jones
(Mississippi), the No. 9 Mounties and No.10 Snow (Utah).

Saturday's game will
feature the return of Mt. SAC offensive coordinator Tom Craft,
Palomar's head coach for most of the last quarter-century and
the ex-head coach at San Diego State.

And it will feature a match-up
of two of the premier quarterbacks in community college
football, the Comets' Hunter Wanket (pictured above left
breaking off a run against Grossmont) and the Mounties'
Kevin Craft.

Kevin Craft, Tom
Craft's son and a transfer from San Diego State, where he was a
part-time starter at quarterback last season, spent most of his
early year's on Palomar's sideline as the Comets' ball boy. He
gray-shirted at Palomar in 2004 before moving on to San Diego
State.

Kevin Craft has
passed for 10 touchdowns in the Mounties' first two games.

Palomar rolled up 707 yards in total offense Saturday as the
Comets rocked host Grossmont 56-42 to run their football win
streak vs. San Diego County opponents to 27 games.

Freshman
running back Leilyon Myers, who originally
signed with the University of Washington, rushed for 227
yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.

The Comets (2-0) defeated the
Griffins for the ninth straight time.

Myers' rushing performance was the third-best in
Palomar history. Only Joe Hall, who later starred for Kansas
State and has been in five NFL training camps, has rushed
for more yards in a single game for the Comets. Hall totaled
261 yards against Saddleback and 246 yards vs. Pasadena City
College, both in 1998.

Myers scored on runs of 9, 24 and 38 yards and Donnell
Fulford (left, scoring game's first touchdown) added 120 yards and two TDs on 20 carries as Palomar
set a school record with 471 yards on the ground. The Comets
averaged 10.0 yards per carry against the Griffins.

Quarterback Hunter Wanket also came up big again in the rout
as he again did his patented imitation of 2006 first-team
All-American and current University of Connecticut
quarterback Tyler Lorenzen with 316 yards in total offense
and three touchdowns of his own.

Wanket connected on 13-of-19 passes for 236 yards and two
touchdowns and also rushed for 80 yards and a 26-yard TD on
six carries.

Palomar's defense came through when it had to -- getting a
huge interception from freshman safety Loa Madon and
producing a goal-line stand at the 1-yard line when
Grossmont was trying to mount a late comeback.

The score could have been worse. Kyle Hill's 99-yard kickoff
return for a touchdown was nullified by off-setting
penalties and the Comets had the ball at the Grossmont
5-yard line late in the fourth quarter but stayed in the
huddle as the clock wound down to end the game.

Fulford's TD runs went for 1 and 22 yards. Wanket's
touchdown passes went to Richie Martin for 23 yards and
Tobias Shanks (pictured at right on TD catch) for 10 yards.

Palomar has not lost to a San Diego County opponent
since 1988.

The Comets now will host Mt. SAC (2-0), a 70-9 winner over
Mt. San Jacinto on Saturday, next Saturday (Sept. 15) at 1
p.m. at Escondido High School's Wilson Stadium.

Coach Joe Early (above)
and his team will face an old rival Saturday when the Comets travel
to Grossmont College.
(Photos by Rick Rowell)

Comets put 26-game win streak

vs. SD
County teams on the line

(9/7/07)

Palomar College and Grossmont
College, two traditional national community college football
powers who have rarely faced each other in recent seasons,
will resume their rivalry when they play a non-conference
game Saturday, Sept. 8, at 3 p.m. at Grossmont.

"I can guarantee you they'll be
one pumped up football team," Palomar coach Joe Early said
about the Griffins, who were ranked No. 6 nationally in the
pre-season but were 56-13 on the road to nationally No.
1-ranked and defending state champion El Camino College last
Saturday.

Early's Palomar squad kicked off
the season with a 34-14 victory over San Bernardino Valley
as quarterback Hunter Wanket (left) passed for 326 yards and three
touchdowns, Tobias Shanks caught seven passes for 200 yards
and the defense pitched a shutout over the game's final 31
minutes, 14 seconds.

"Beating us Saturday would be a
great way to get back on track for (Grossmont)," Early said.
"We're expecting a very physical, very intense game."

It will be the first time the
Comets (1-0), who are ranked No. 15 in the nation by the
J.C. Grid-Wire, and Griffins (0-1) have met since 2002
and only the second time since 1994.

Palomar will be seeking its 27th
consecutive victory over San Diego County teams. The Comets
lost last to a county opponent on Nov. 29, 1988, when
they fell to Southwestern 32-25, in the final game of the
season..

Palomar has won its last eight
meetings with Grossmont dating back to a 21-16 loss in 1987.
The Comets defeated the Griffins 58-6 in 1988, 28-21 in
1989, 63-44 in 1990, 49-6 on the way to national
championship in 1991, 51-41 in 1992, 50-13 en route to
another national title in 1993, 48-28 in 1994 and 20-19 in
2002.

But the host Griffins, who won
the Grid-Wire national championship in 2005, have
held a rankings edge over the three-time national champion
Comets and county bragging rights every season since 2002.

The Comets capped a 10-win,
1-loss season in long-time assistant Early's first year as
head coach that season, capped by the 20-19 win over the
Griffins in the South County Bowl to achieve a final No. 4
national ranking. The Comets trailed late but scored the
winning touchdown on an 80-yard pass play with 1:32 to play.

Since then, the Griffins have
pretty much owned the show national-rankings wise among San
Diego County teams -- but these two teams have not met
during that span.

The rivalry that is renewed
Saturday will continue yearly beginning next season when
Palomar and Grossmont are slated to play in the same
division in the new Southern California Community College
Football Alliance.

Palomar out-gained
San Bernardino Valley 509 yards to 199 yards on Saturday as
quarterback Hunter Wanket passed for 326 yards and three
touchdowns and Tobias Shanks had seven receptions for 200 yards
and a 61-yard touchdown.

Leilyon Myers breaks a
tackle on his way to a 15-yard gain to the San Bernardino Valley
21-yard line in the first quarter. The drive culminated with a
22-yard field goal by Joe Carithers. (Photos by Hugh Cox)

Wanket (326
yds. passing), Shanks

(7 catches, 200 yds.)
lift Comets

(9/1/07)

Nationally
16th-ranked Palomar kicked off the 2007 football season with
a 34-14 non-conference victory over San Bernardino Valley on
Saturday evening in Escondido.

Quarterback Hunter Wanket
(19-for-32, 326 yards, three touchdowns), receiver Tobias
Shanks (seven catches, 200 yards, one touchdown) and an
opportunistic defense led the way as the Comets out-gained
the Wolverines 509 yards to 199.

Wanket's TD passes went to
Shanks for 44 yards (left), 9 yards to Stephan Towns
(right) and 18 yards
to Kyle Hill. He also had an 80-yard TD pass play to Shanks
nullified by a penalty.

The Comets also scored a TD on a
1-yard run by Donnell Fulford. Joe Carithers kicked field
goals of 22 and 24 yards and tacked on four PATs.

Wanket threw for 224 of his
yards in the first half.

Cornerback David Batts (nine
tackles, one for a loss) and middle linebacker Mike Bethea
(No. 36 left, seven tackles, two for losses) led the way as
Palomar's defense held San Bernardino to 57 yards rushing
and 142 passing. Michael Wright and Michael Allen
intercepted passes. Bubba Pugh recovered a fumble.

Tyler Lorenzen is off
and running Saturday. So were the UConn Huskies.

Lorenzen
leads UConn to 45-14 win;

Ex-Comet
throws, runs for 354 yds.

(9/1/07)

Palomar transfer Tyler Lorenzen
made his debut as the University of Connecticut's
quarterback one to remember Saturday as he led the Huskies
to a 45-14 rout of Duke in a non-conference game at Durham,
NC.

Lorenzen, the J.C. Grid-Wire's
first-team All-American quarterback a year ago and the 2006
national community college total offense champion, connected
on 22-of-30 pass attempts for 298 yards and two touchdowns.

He also rushed for 56 yards.

Palomar opens
with San Berdoo;

Bethea is
1st-team All-American

(9/1/07)

Palomar
will face a mystery opponent to kick off the 2007 football
season Saturday, Sept. 1.

That mystery opponent, whom the
nationally 16th-ranked Comets will play in a non-conference
game at Escondido High's Wilson Stadium, is San Bernardino
Valley.

The Comets are coming off a
season when they went 6-5, tied for the Mission Conference
American Division championship, missed an unbeaten season by
22 points and lost 30-28 to then nationally No. 1-ranked
Saddleback on the road in the first round of the state
community college playoffs.

Wanket
throws for four TDs as

Palomar
dominates scrimmage

(8/25/07)

Palomar's
football team dominated Chaffey in a scrimmage on Saturday
at Wilson Stadium in Escondido as sophomore quarterback
Hunter Wanket (left) did his best imitation of 2006
All-American Tyler Lorenzen.

The 6-foot-4, 220-pound
Wanket, splitting time with two other quarterbacks, completed
7-of-11 passes for 150 yards and four touchdowns.

Wanket also rushed for
60 positive yards on five carries.

The TD passes went to
Donnell Fulford for 13 yards, Adam Madden for 15 yards, Shawn
Dearing for 35 yards and John Melton for 45 yards. Wanket, Steven
Carroll and Joey Erickson threw for a combined 275 yards The
Palomar QBs were a combined 17-for-31, were not intercepted, and
Wanket and Carroll each had a drop that eliminated what would have
been big gains.

The Comets' other
touchdowns came on runs of 9 yards by Leilyon Myers, 9 yards
by Carroll and 6 and 10 yards by Diondre Grigsby.

Nine different Comets
carried the ball and 11 caught passes. All-American wide receiver
candidate Tobias Shanks was held out due to a minor injury.

The Comets threw only
one pass to Kyle Hill, their most dangerous all-around player. The
teams played a live quarter to begin the scrimmage, and Hill was one
defender away from returning the opening kickoff 97 yards for a
touchdown. He returned the ball 37 yards.

Loren Rojas and John
Price intercepted passes as Palomar's defensive unit limited Chaffey
to two touchdowns on the afternoon Defensive end Caleb Evans
recorded two sacks, while defensive end Kevin Austin broke up two
passes.

Coach Joe Early
singled out linebackers Shane Melbo, David Motu and Bubba
Pugh and defensive backs Loa Madon and Michael Wright for
their play on defense.

"The defense
looked quick and sharp," Early said. .

Center Vic Aquilina led the way as Palomar's
young offensive line was much improved from an intrasquad
scrimmage the previous week.

"Offensively,
our quarterbacks did as good job and our defensive line,
young as it is, did a real good job and has something to
build on," Early said. "(Joe) Carithers is going to do a
good job kicking.

"Overall, this
was a good starting point for us leading into practice for
San Bernardino this week."

The Comets kick off the season this upcoming
Saturday, Sept. 1, against San Bernardino Valley at Wilson
Stadium at 5 p.m.

Palomar
transfer Lorenzen named

UConn's 2007
quarterback starter

(8/14/07)

Palomar
transfer Tyler Lorenzen, the
J.C. Grid-Wire's first-team All-American quarterback
last Fall, has been named the University of Connecticut's
2007 starting quarterback.

UConn head coach Randy
Edsell named the 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior, the 2006 national
community college total offense leader, the Huskies starter on
Tuesday.

"We feel that it was a
good competition between Tyler and Dennis but that Tyler has clearly
solidified himself as the number one quarterback," UConn coach
Edsall said.

Lorenzen (above
right, photo by Dirk Dewachter) completed 229 of 332 attemps for
2,960 yards and 26 touchdowns last Fall and rushed for an additional
836 yards and eight TDs in leading the Comets to a share of the
Mission Conference American Division championship.

He'd been battling with
red-shirt sophomore Dennis Brown for the UConn starting job.

The Huskies of the Big
East Conference open the 2007 season on Sept.1 against Duke.

Palomar
opens
season ranked

No. 16 in
the nation by Grid-Wire

(8/10/07)

The
J.C. Grid-Wire rates Palomar No. 16 in the nation
among 145 football-playing community colleges in the
pre-season.

Coach Joe Early
(left, photo by Dirk Derkwachter) and the Comets will
play five of their 10 regular-season games against other
schools that are ranked in the Top 30 in the nation --
including a Nov. 3 game at pre-season nationally No.
1-ranked and defending California Community College champion
El Camino College.

That game will
be played at Murdock Stadium at El Camino College in
Torrance at 6 p.m.

To subscribe to
the J.C. Grid-Wire for the 2007 season, go to http:
www.JCFootball.com
and signup for Total Access, or e-mail
kevin@jcfootball.com.
The Grid-Wire, published by Hank Ives, and
JCFootball.com are now partners.

125
prospective Comets open Fall practices

(8/9/07)

Coach
Joe Early greeted 125 candidates as Palomar opened drills
for the 2007 football season Thursday at the Comets'
practice field.

"For the first day, I
liked where we're at," Early said. "We're a long way from where
we'll be in a couple of weeks, but I like where we're at.

"We had a good summer,
and it appears to be carrying into August camp. We've got talent and
speed, but after we've been in pads a couple weeks and practiced in
high stress situations, we'll know a lot better about where
we're at."

The Comets -- who tied
for the Mission Conference American Division title a year ago and
defeated the other co-champion, Mt. SAC, 42-7 -- will kick off the
2007 campaign against San Bernardino Valley at Escondido's Wilson
Stadium three weeks from Saturday, on Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

The Comets have two
outstanding quarterbacks in sophomore Hunter Wanket, who was named
to the All-Southern California Community College Combine Team over
the summer, and freshman Steven Carroll from Oceanside High School

Defensive end Grant
Wallenda (91), shown in Comets' 24-20 loss to eventual state
community college champion El Camino College last Sept. 30, has
died after a motorcycle accident. Wallenda was an organ donor.
(Photo by Hugh Gerhardt)

Comets mourn
Wallenda's mortorcycle death

(7/16/07)

Palomar's
football team is mourning the death of Grant Wallenda, who
was a projected starter as a sophomore for the Comets for
the 2007 season.

Wallenda, a 6-foot-4,
250-pound defensive end who saw considerable playing time at 215
pounds for the
Comets during the 2006 season, died
Friday at Loma Linda Medical Center from injuries sustained in a
motorcycle accident in June.

Coach Joe Early said the
Comets will wear Wallenda's initials, "G.W.", on their helmets
during the 2007 season.

"We were expecting some
special things out of Grant this Fall," said J.G. Aegerter, Palomar
co-defensive coordinator and
defensive
line coach. "He had a terrific spring and had so much upside.

"We haven't had a
defensive end that size since Corey Mace (who started at the
University of Wyoming, currently with the Buffalo Bills) and Soli
Lefiti (who started for the University of Utah). Grant played a lot
for us as a freshman and was a projected starter for us this Fall.
Grant would have been a big-time Division I scholarship player. He
was such a great kid and had such a bright future."

Early said Palomar's
coaches will present Wallenda's No. 91 jersey to his family and
girlfriend.

Grant Wallenda was an
All-CIF-Southern Section Division V first-team selection as a
defensive lineman as a senior during the 2005 season at West Valley
High School in Hemet.

Wallenda was 14th in the
state in sacks with 16 for 111 yards in losses during his senior
season for the Mustangs. He also helped lead West Valley to an
unbeaten boys volleyball regular season and Citrus Belt League
championship as a senior during the 2006 season, and was a
championship-level mountain biker.

Wallenda was an organ
donor.

Services are private.
Aegerter said a celebration of Wallenda's life is pending.

Hamideh to I-AA
Texas Southern; List is at 17

(7/17/07)

Defensive tackle Zach Hamideh
(left) has
accepted a scholarship to NCAA Division I-AA Texas
Southern, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference located
in Houston TX

Palomar's list of players from the
2006 football team moving onto four-year college
programs is now at 17, including 10 to Division I-A or
I-AA schools.

Hamideh, a 6-foot-3, 265-pound San
Marcos High School product, was Palomar's third-leading
tackler last Fall as a starter for a team that
tied for the Mission Conference American Division
championship and advanced to the state community college
playoffs.

Hamideh finished the season with 49
tackles (15 unassisted) in 11 games, seven tackles for
losses, three sacks, three quarterback hurries and a
fumble recovery.

Palomar's
list of football players from last season's team moving on
to play at four-year college teams has reached 16 after
starting offensive
left guard Steven Kolone (left) accepted a
scholarship to Northern State.

The NCAA
Division II school is located in Aberdeen, SD.

Kolone, a
6-foot-3, 280-pound sophomore from Rancho Bernardo High,
will join Palomar teammate Tony Faasua, a starting
offensive tackle last Fall who previously signed with the
Wolves.

WR
Fenton accepts scholarship to Truman St.

(6/14/07)

Slot
receiver Tyler Fenton (right), who led Palomar's 2006 football team with 43
catches for 533 yards and six touchdowns, has accepted a scholarship
to NCAA Division II Truman State University in Kirksville, MO.

Fenton had
12 receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in the Comets'
30-28 opening-round state
playoff loss to Saddleback, at the time the No. 1-ranked team in the
nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire.

Also, quarterback
Carter Hallock, who backed up sophomore starter and Grid-Wire
first-team All-American Tyler Lorenzen (now at Connecticut) and
freshman Hunter Wanket (who is returning) in 2006, has
de-committed to West Texas A&M and has accepted a scholarship to
NCAA Division II Arkansas Tech.

Palomar will
kick off the season on Sept. 1

(6/6/07)

Palomar's
again will play five home games and five away games this upcoming
Fall, beginning with a non-conference match-up with San Bernardino
Valley College on Saturday, Sept. 1, at 5 p.m.

The Comets, under coach
Joe Early, again will play their home games at Wilson
Stadium on the campus of Escondido High School.

Palomar's other home
games will be against Mt. SAC, Orange Coast, Long Beach City College
and Golden West.

The Comets -- who are
defending Mission Conference American Division co-champions and have
won three National Community College Championships -- will play 2005
National Champion Grossmont Grossmont on Sept.8 at Grossmont. It
will be the teams' first meeting since the Comets' 2002 team, which
was ranked No. 4 in the Nation by the J.C. Grid-Wire, beat the
Griffins 20-19 in the South County Bowl.

Palomar has gone 26-0
against San Diego County community colleges since losing its final
game to Southwestern in 1987.

Former Palomar slot
receiver Caleb Spencer has signed a free agent contract with the
Washington Redskins.

Spencer
(left and below right) started 35 games the past three seasons for the
University of Nevada, finishing his Wolfpack career with 189
receptions for 2,214 yards. He made the All-WAC first team as a
junior in 2005 and was second team as a senior in 2006.

The 6-foot-0,
180-pounder from Kamehameha High School in Honolulu, HI, played
his freshman season for the Comets in 2003, catching 42 passes
for 772 yards and five TDs for a team that went 8-3 and was
ranked No. 15 nationally by the J.C. Grid-Wire at the end
of the regular season.

Both the Comets'
regular-season losses came in overtime to teams that finished
the regular season with 10-0 records, Mt. SAC and College of the
Canyons.

Spencer led Nevada
in receiving last Fall with 55 receptions for 564 yards. He had
four catches for 34 yards in the Wolfpack's 21-20 loss to Miami
on Dec. 31 in the MPC Computers Bowl at Boise, ID. At Nevada,
Spencer had high single games of 10 receptions as a sophomore in
2004 (vs. San Diego State), 12 as a junior in 2005 (vs. UNLV)
and eight as a senior in 2006 (vs. Arizona State and again
against Northwestern).

Previously,
offensive tackle Chris Pino (who played on the four-year college
level at San Diego State) signed with the Baltimore Ravens and
defensive end Corey Mace (who played at Wyoming) signed with the
Buffalo Bills.

Mace signs
out of Wyoming with Buffalo Bills

(5/1//07)

Former
Palomar defensive lineman Corey Mace (left) has signed an NFL
free agent contract with the Buffalo Bills. The
6-foot-3, 287-pound defensive end / tackle
starred for the University of Wyoming the last two
season.

Mace (left) will
report to mini-camp with the Bills next week.

He becomes
the second former Palomar and Wyoming player currently
in pro football.

Pino (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) played on
the Division I level at San Diego State and made it to the final cut
last season with the Washington Redskins.

He saw extensive action in the Redskins'
final preseason game -- against the Ravens, who signed him to their
practice squad when he was released.

Pino was promoted to the regular roster
in January.

Schmidt and Rockett both
sign with NFL Europe

(3/9/07)

Former
Palomar football players Taylor Schmidt (who played center, San
Diego State) and Ron Rockett (safety, University of Wyoming,
pictured at left making a tackle against Florida) both have
signed contracts with NFL Europe.

Both were selected in late February in
the 16th round of the league's draft -- Taylor with the Rhein Fire
and Rockett with the Frankfurt Galaxy.

Both are reporting to training camp in
Florida. Taylor made it through most of the 2006 NFL pre-season with
the Seattle Seahawks before being released.